walk it street

A woman with a baby in her bosom walking in the middle of a busy street at Pasar Baru in a broad daylight.

sorry folks, it's reserved!

Sorry folks, this part of the sidewalk is reserved! By me, of course (and those billboard poles, if you happen to notice). I'm a tire patcher. I work to help those motorists who have flat tire. But right now, I'm busy with my cell phone. So, please don't distrub me. And yeah, you may walk on the street so that you can get hit by the car. That's none of my business, though. ^_^

misplaced

In a system, one misplaced thing leads to another and another.

monkey see monkey do

Jalan Pasteur. Under the Pasupati flyover.

converging corner

autotrian or sideautolot?

The English language may not have a single word to name this phenomenon. There is pedestrian which, as a noun, means a person going on foot; or, as an adjective, something related to walking. Then there is sidewalk, a paved walk for pedestrians at the side of a street. There is also the parking lot where motor vehicles are supposed to be parked. But in this chaotic city, these things are never differentiated, all at the the risk of the pedestrians' safety.

How do we name the blending of these things then?

What about: autotrian or sideautolot?

jalan purnawarman

I have previously raved about pedestrians having no rights in this city. And I didn't mean it as an overstatement.

In a lot of places in this city, there are either no sidewalks or the existing sidewalks have been invaded by street vendors and/or other usages.

Jalan Purnawarman (Purnawarman Street) - a busy commercial area featured in these pictures - is just another example. Bandung is generally not a walkable city, except for the brave citizens who have been so used to it and/or those adventurous souls who are willing to risk their lives on the streets.

Sadly, the city's government has never done anything consistent about this problem.

rainy day at braga

A peek at Jalan Braga on a rainy day that ruined the ill-prepared Braga Fest 2009 last December.

in good use

This pedestrian crossing bridge connecting Jalan Stasiun Timur and Jalan Kebon Jukut streets is quite probably the most well-used crossing bridge in the entire city.

The secret?

It significantly shorten the distance between the points that it connects. And underneath it is a fenced double track railways.

Most other pedestrian crossing bridges in the city are just useless accessories that often become a sore to the eyes as most pedestrians prefer to jaywalk than use it. The streets in this city are generally just not too wide that using a crossing bridge takes more time and energy. As you will see in many other photos here, safety and orderliness are not generally in the minds of most of this city's citizens. Convenience is. Unfortunately, they don't always go together well.

urban scene

Steel, concrete, and the menacing sky: the urban scene often feels gloomy and suffocating. But it's alive and vibrant.

Pedestrian crossing bridge connecting Jalan Stasiun Timur and Jalan Kebon Jukut, Bandung.

invisible #3

By law, they are supposed to stop behind the line. In a city (and country) where there is no effective law enforcement, however, everything can be chaotic. The street (and this kind of scene repeated all over the place) is only a tiny reflection of it.

pedestrians have no rights in this city

The phenomenon is so pervasive. Any of these peds could have been hit by motorists.

Location: Jalan Merdeka and Jalan Aceh.